


how do you call your lover boy?

by dnbroughs



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dirty Dancing Fusion, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Slow Burn, i'll probably up the rating later on, jazzy af dancing, mr keene the creepy pharmacist makes an appearance, sonia kaspbrak can suck my dick
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2019-03-30 11:24:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13950549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dnbroughs/pseuds/dnbroughs
Summary: eddie wants to enjoy his summer and richie doesn’t want to fall in loveorthe dirty dancing au that nobody asked for





	1. chapter one

“Ping-Pong in the west arcade, softball in the east diamond!”

The shouts from a proportionally plump man, dressed blindingly in white reverberated in Eddie’s head, doing nothing to ease the slight panic in his chest as he and Bill helped his mother take suitcases out of the back of the car.

The seven hour drive from Maine to New York had given Eddie ample time to reflect on the past year and the eventual misgivings of the next. It had been roughly 9 months, 23 days and 7 hours since his father had died, but it’s not like he was counting. The last eighteen years of his life had seemingly been rendered useless in that time, the heavy ache of grief and exhaustion weighing his body down even more than usual. His mother had told him that he let himself go; His hair had curled from putting off hair cuts and there was no denying that his thighs and stomach had thickened since, but not as drastically as his mother’s, her weight unhealthily increasing over the past months, but it wasn’t in Eddie’s nature to tell her so.

The biggest change, however, was _her_. The woman who would watch him and his father with an exasperated glee as they would throw tennis balls around their house was gone, leaving a woman who put safety locks on the cutlery draw. Gone was the Sonia who would laugh and joke with the best of them, her infectious giggles lighting up a room, and instead an overbearing mother was left in her place. And Eddie didn’t know what to think about her.

“But Ma,” he had whined into the third hour of the trip. “It’s so warm. Please can i put the top down, just for a little bit?”

The soft roof of the car was always down. Frank Kaspbrak thought he was the coolest man in town with his convertible, Sonia thought he was mad, and Eddie loved it. They would go riding when he was young, the wind ruffling their hair and obscuring their whoops and yells.

“Don’t be silly, Eddie Bear, you know your delicate skin can’t handle this heat without sunscreen.” she murmured, her voice still managing to come out hysterical, so as not to wake Bill’s sleeping form in the back seat.

He didn’t talk for the rest of the journey.

As soon as she opened the trunk, Sonia had her attention stolen by a wiry man in a crisply laundered suit, his arms outstretched in an overly jovial manner as he chatted animatedly to Eddie’s mom. Eddie slunk against the back of the car, heaving out a sigh as Bill watched him with an amused smile, removing the bags from the trunk with an ease Eddie was jealous of. Looking at him now, it’s easy to see how Eddie’s crush on him had first started. His copper hair lay darker now than it did when they were young, only ever glinting red in the sunlight, but his smile remained the same- 100 watt and comforting, like the feeling that home lied in the quirk of his lips. But still, no silly schoolboy crush could ever make Eddie ignore the fact that Bill was his best friend. He admired him, maybe too much at some points, but his presence was constant and unwavering, even after his father’s death. Most people treated him like he was fragile, something to be swaddled in bubble wrap and handled with care, but not Bill. Eddie appreciated it, but he appreciated it more now, with him hauling luggage out of the back of his mom’s car as he faced what was possibly going to be the worst four weeks of his whole life.

“Eddie!” he heard a voice call, leaning back up off the boot of the car to come face to face with Mr. Keene, a greasy grin stretched wide across his face. Eddie tried not to grimace as he shook his hand, trying his best to look interested as the man spoke.

“- and your father was a huge friend of mine, wouldn’t be here without him. Say, hey- Ben! Come over here and get these bags!” He called out, motioning over a stocky boy, standing an inch or two taller than Bill, with the kindest smile Eddie had seen this side of Portland. He waved the two boys hello as he started to pull the bags further away from the car with Bill’s help as Mr. Keene finally let go of Eddie’s hand and turned back to his mother, addressing them both.

“You guys have full run of the mill, and I kept the best cabin for you and your beautiful son.” Although he spoke mainly to Sonia, Eddie couldn’t help the thick feeling of unease that lay at the back of his throat at his words, tuning back into the conversation.

“There’s a merengue class in the gazebo in the next few minutes. The greatest teachers. She used to be a Rockette and he was in some broadway show or something-” he started, wrapping a spindly arm around Sonia’s shoulders before leading her off in the general direction of God knows where. He hid his groan as he turned back to Ben and Bill, the latter watching the exchange with unadulterated amusement while the former politely giggled as he dug his hands into the pockets of his maroon jacket, the resort logo emblazoned on his sleeve.

“W-what are we wa-waiting fo-or, Eddie?” Bill teased with a quirk of his mouth and a wiggle of his eyebrows and this time, Eddie let himself groan loudly.

 

* * *

 

 

“This is the last fucking thing I wanted to do today Bill.” he seethed as his mother watched theml cha-cha on the wooden floor of the gazebo with a cautious smile, eyes trained on the floor to watch out for any rouge feet coming to tread on Eddie’s toes, as Ben stood next to them, leaning against the wall. He waited for some half assed response from Bill or a polite suggestion of what else they could do from Ben, but they never came, and he looked up from his feet to find them both staring at the instructors, and he couldn’t blame them. They were beautiful.

The girl- Bev, he heard one of the other employees say- had her hair hung half up and half down around her pale shoulders, freckles painting her skin as she swung her dress around her hips, layers of yellow tulle floating around her waist as she grinned brightly, exposing perfectly white teeth as she caught Ben’s gaze, her voice sweet and buoyant as she shouted in time with the music.

“One, two, three four- show them how it’s done Stan!” she bolstered before spinning and turning away from the centre of the floor to let this Stan take over, and Eddie almost barked out a laugh at the breathy noise that left Bill’s mouth. Stan’s hips moved fluidly in time with the upbeat music, his sun bleached curls whipping around his head as he twisted his arms around his front, flexing the slight yet toned muscles of his arm.

_I’m surrounded by horny fucking teenagers_ , he thought as Bev crowded them all into a round robin, his feet staggering as the other dancers pushed their way into the train, and Eddie clung to Bill’s shoulders. She led the train, still swinging her dress between her fingers and Stan hung back, swaying slightly as he stood with Ben next to the wall, chatting to him whilst keeping his eyes on the dancers.

“Come on ladies, God wouldn’t have give you maracas if he didn’t want you to shake them!” she called, shimmying as she carried on dancing, leading the line in a circle. Eddie let out a scandalised laugh as he followed, relaxing slightly as Bill tried to keep up with the person in front of him.

“Okay now ladies, when I say stop, you’re gonna find the man of your dreams.” she crooned, but Eddie didn’t miss the slight roll of her eyes, directed towards Stan as he made his way back onto the floor to join her, whispering something in her ear as he did, making her chuckle.

“Stop!” she called, grabbing the man nearest to her, who seemed to be delighted by this, and Eddie’s head span, disorientated by the sudden movement of the crowd, and before he knew it, he had his hands on an old woman’s waist, smiling awkwardly down at her as they continued to dance. He looked around for Bill, finding him on the edges of the floor, his hands on Stan’s shoulders, a flush spreading across his face as Stan’s hands slowly crept down to clutch at his hips. Eddie caught his eye, shooting him a look, to which Bill could only shrug and flush harder.

_Jammy bastard._

 

* * *

 

It was just after six when Sonia Kaspbrak fell asleep, allowing Eddie and Bill to sneak out of the cabin to look around before the three went out to dinner. They ambled up the the main house, Eddie wrapping his cardigan around him as he felt the slight chill of the evening creep into his bones. Bill was in fairyland, talking nonsense about Stan-this and Stan-that.

“Bill, no offence buddy, but you sound like those girls who used to sit under the bleachers and talk about boys in gym class.” Eddie commented, only half teasing with his words. Bill blushed even more, if that was even possible, and elbowed Eddie who cried out with a laugh.

“S-shut u-up.” he murmured, trying to hide his face in his shoulder as they made their way up onto the deck of the house, walking at a comfortable pace.

Eddie laughed again but was interrupted by a voice coming from the door to the dining room, and the greasy shiver that ran down his spine could only tell him that it was the voice of Mr. Keene. Eddie hushed Bill as he crowded closer to the door, trying his best to keep out of sight as he listened in.

“There are two kinds of help here,” he spoke to a room full of kids around his age, all in the same uniform, watching him with an attention that was equal parts bored and intimidated. “You waiters are all college guys, and I went to Harvard and Yale to hire you. And why did I do that? Why? I shouldn’t have to remind you, this is a family place. You keep your fingers out of the water, your hair out of the soup and you show the daughters a good time. All the daughters. Even the dogs.”

Eddie felt a wave of nausea crash through him as he turned to share an irritated look with Bill. Eddie had seen enough of this man for one day, content to turn around and carry on walking until another voice sounded.

“You got that guys?” the new person spoke, their voice thick and gravelly, and Eddie thought that he must be the most beautiful man he’s ever seen. His hair stood unruly, splayed in all different directions but still managed to keep a cigarette perched behind his ear. Sunglasses covered the top half of his face and a leather jacket hung over his shoulder, looking dull against the jade of his faded shirt, holes peppering the seams, and the soles of his well worn converse squeaked against the polished floor of the dining room as he moved through it, not even bothering to spare Keene a glance.

“Hold it, wise ass.” Keene said, halting the boy and a few others in their tracks. “You’ve got your own rules: Dance with the daughters, teach them the mambo, the cha cha, anything they pay for. That’s it. That’s where it ends. No funny business, no conversations and keep your hands off!” His voice raised at the end of his sentence and the man looked down at his feet, scuffing the toe of his shoe against the floor, an addictive air of disinterest about him.

“It’s the same in all these places,” he finally spoke as Keene walked off, turning towards another man with a guitar in his hands, the name Mike sewn onto his jacket. “Some ass in the woods maybe, but no conversation.”

The collective around him broke out into laughs and whoops as a skinny boy with the worst mullet Eddie had seen (and he can’t say he’s ever seen a good one) huffed, placing cutlery neatly beside plates before speaking.

“Can you keep that straight, Richie? What you can and can’t lay your hands on?” His words were biting and a smirk lay on his lips as he said it, and Eddie involuntarily rolled his eyes.

Richie stepped towards him, standing easily another head taller, squaring his shoulders as he pushed up his glasses, letting out a scoff.

“Just put your pickle on everybody’s plate, Bowers, and leave the hard stuff to me.”

A chorus of ‘oohs’ broke out in the room as Bowers scowled, and Richie pushed past him. Eddie quickly jerked out of the way of the door, careful to go unseen. He leant against the wall adjacent to the door, letting a sigh push past his lips.

Okay then. Maybe this summer wouldn’t be that boring after all.


	2. chapter two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is so long overdue feel free to hate me !  
> chapter updates are probably gonna be slow for a while because i have really important exams coming up, but i'm gonna try my best to stick to uploading at least weekly, if not, every two weeks :)  
> this is unedited af but pls lemme know what you guys think ! <3

Dinner that evening was dull. 

Eddie’s mother had been making goo goo eyes at Keene, who had scrubbed up quite well in Eddie’s not-so-humble opinion, if you could look past the greasy hair, yellow teeth and lack of respect for personal space. The full hour and a half had been filled with Sonia’s quiet giggles, Bill blushing everytime he caught a glimpse of Stan dancing with elderly woman after elderly woman, and Eddie wondering how much complementary bread rolls he’d have to eat to kill himself. When the topic of conversation had turned to Eddie himself, he abruptly excused himself from the table and all but ran to the toilets, splashing his face with cold water from the overly decorative tap and took heaving breaths, this knuckles almost white as he gripped the ceramic curve of the sink like a vice. His hands loosened as he stared at his reflection in the mirror, his hands ghosting over the pockets of his khaki shorts, itching to feel the hard outline of his plastic inhaler, but stopped himself from pulling it out. He was past this. He didn’t need it. He didn’t.

He realised that his trip had been slightly too long to seem innocent and inconspicuous, but it seemed nobody noticed as their table was empty, being cleared away by the mullet wearing boy Eddie has spied on the night before. Eddie willed away the memory of dark curls and a sharp tongue as he turned, trying to find Bill, but his attempts to find the auburn haired boy were useless. Instead, he found his mother, her face as red as her dress, dancing the tango with Keene, and he took this as his cue to leave.

The air was colder now than it had been when he and Bill went out before, and he wished now that he had the sensibility to bring a coat or a sweater to cover himself with. Faced with the ever growing problem of locating Bill, he started to make his way back to the cabin at a leisurely pace. He was halfway there when he heard a grunt.

“Shit!” the voice groaned, and Eddie whipped around to find a figure struggling down a path adjacent to the one he was walking on, something lying in his arms.

“Ben?” Eddie half called, half guessed, and his suspicions were confirmed as the blonde turned around, offering Eddie a small smile as he jogged over.

“What are you doing over here?” Ben asked, adjusting the grip on the load in his arms and- was he holding watermelons?

It seems Eddie had asked the question aloud as Ben let out a laugh, nodding his head. “You should go back, actually. It’s kind of a no guest area over here.”

Now Eddie was curious. He ignored Ben’s polite dismissal and reached for the watermelon that was falling from his arms instead. 

“Let me help you.” he offered, shooting Ben a sweet smile. Ben seemed to be fighting with himself, glancing towards his destination and then back down at the watermelon before heaving out a sigh.

“ _Fine._ But you gotta swear to keep it a secret. Your mom would kill you, and Keene would kill me…” he rambled as he started up the path again, faster now that his arms were lighter, and Eddie struggled to keep up with his long strides but his interest had peaked, so he walked quickly to keep in stride with Ben.

After a minute of walking in silence, their destination came into view. The small building sat in the shelter of a row of looming trees, and there seemed to be people spilling out of it, the heavy thrum of music seeping from the windows and reverberating in Eddie’s chest. WHen they reached the door, Ben pushed it open with his hip and Eddie squeezed in behind him, his mouth hanging open as he watched the couples dancing.  
It was like nothing Eddie had ever seen before. He’d been to a couple of dances back in Maine, mainly at his mother’s insistence, but the most scandalous dancing he’d seen was when there was less than two inches between dance partners. But here, people danced like what his mother would call savages. They grinded on each other, hips rolling, crotches touching, heads thrown back in ecstacy. Hands wandered and legs hitched, bringing them closer than before, if that was even possible. Eddie was scandalised, and he’s never wanted something so much in his life. 

“Where did they learn to dance like that?” he asked Ben, half shouting over the music, trying to sound nonchalant. 

“Where? I don’t know. Kids are doing it in their basements back home. Wanna try it?” Ben teases, mimicking their movements in a way that was so unlike Ben, Eddie began to choke on his own spit in surprise, and Ben barked out a laugh at Eddie’s red cheeks when he shook his head.

“Come on, Eddie.” He chuckled with his usual warm smile, leading Eddie deftly through the sweaty bodies to a large wooden table and put down his watermelon when the redhead from the gazebo called him.

“Ben!”

Her smile lit up the room, as well as Ben’s face, as she pulled him into a hug, her eyes briefly lingering on Eddie as she pulled away, and she gave Ben a look he couldn’t quite decipher.

“This is Eddie,” Ben said, and Eddie gave a sheepish wave whilst still clinging to the watermelon. “He gave me some help with the fruit. He’s cool, Bev.” he spoke, his voice turning soft, and soon enough so did Bev’s gaze as she offered him her hand, which Eddie tried his best to shake whilst keeping a hold of his cargo.

“Can you imagine dancing like this on the main floor? Home of the family fox-trot?” She asked when Eddie’s gaze returned to the floor, and while her tone was light, Eddie could still detect the bite in her words. “Keene would rather close the place down first.”

Eddie giggled at her, his attention flitting back to the floor as the song finished up and the dancers clapped. Many stayed on the makeshift dance floor for the next song, and some were happy to let those standing around the edges take over. Eddie, however, was not expecting one of those people to be his best friend who currently had his hand perched dangerously low on the curly headed boy’s waist. Eddie shot him a look as Bill introduced Stan to him, but before he could ask Bill anything, the floor erupted into cheers as someone made their way across the room, and the group he was standing in seemed to know to join in.

“Guess that’s my cue.” Bev shrugged before making her way to the middle of the floor where a space had been made, twirling into the arms of the curly headed boy he couldn’t seem to get out of his head. Eddie was transfixed, his gaze not leaving his body once. The boy moved fluidly against Bev, their hips rolling and turning in tandem, and Eddie’s heart stopped when Bev whispered something in his ear and he laughed, freely and sweetly. It was better than any song they’d played so far.

“That’s my friend Richie,” Ben explained when he caught Eddie’s gaze on him, and he abruptly looked away, his cheeks burning. “He’s the one who got me the job here.”

“They look great together.” Eddie sighed, enthralled by him, by his movements. He shouldn’t be thinking like this. His mother would kill him. She had always tried to pair him off with girls that Eddie had no interest in. She had always warned Eddie about the dangers of men who would try to seduce other men away from their families, away from their friends, and away from God. He could see Bill and Stan out of the corner of his eye, whispering and giggling to each other, totally ignored by the people around them, and then looked back at the dark haired boy. He couldn’t want that- _didn’t_ want that. Did he?

“Yeah. You’d think they were a couple, wouldn’t you?” Ben replied, tapping his feet along to the music. Eddie felt his heart stutter in his chest and blood pound in his ears. He tried to will the feeling away, but it only persisted

“Aren’t they?” He asked, trying to seem casual and nonplussed, all the while feeling like his heart was going to hammer through his chest and flop on the sticky floor like a dead fish. Eddie would welcome that, actually. At least then he could stomp on it until it lay in a bloody pulp and left him alone.

“No,” Ben shakes his head, “Not since we were kids.”

Eddie could have watched him forever, but it didn’t take long for the song to end, and before he knew it, they pair were walking over to where he and Ben were stood. He gulped, finding his throat embarrassingly dry as they finally stopped in front of them, engaging in an easy conversation with Ben, and Eddie found he was so much prettier up close. His dark hair wasn’t curled in tight coils like Stan’s was, but his curls lay sporadically across his head, like it couldn’t make its mind up whether it wanted to curl or be straight. A light smattering of freckles kissed his cheeks, and his dark eyes were made even darker by his pale skin, and there was a faint indent on the bridge of his nose, and Eddie wondered if he usually wore glasses.

He must have felt him staring, because he soon caught Eddie’s gaze, and Eddie tried to look away quickly, inspecting his pristine white plimsolls.

“What’s he doin’ here?” He asks Ben, and Eddie felt his cheeks burn in rage. He had half the mind to snap back at Richie blatantly ignoring him, but he bit his tongue.

“This is Eddie, Richie. He’s with me.” Ben answered.

“I carried a watermelon.” Eddie blurt, tired of being talked about like he wasn’t standing right there, but he immediately kicked himself as the words left his mouth, resisting the urge to groan.

This, however, only seemed to encourage Richie, who let out a noise somewhere between a scoff and an amused laugh. He didn’t realise what was happening until the watermelon was being lifted from his arms and placed on the table next to Ben, and then Richie was walking backwards onto the floor, crooking a finger towards Eddie in a come hither motion, and his feet moved off their own accord, pulled towards Richie like a magnet onto the floor until they were stood toe to toe, and Eddie hadn’t realised how tall he was until now.

“Bend your knees.” Richie instructed, his voice low and gravelly in their new found proximity, and Eddie was compelled to follow his instructions, bending his knees awkwardly, his back stiff.

Richie sighed softly as he took Eddie’s chin between his forefinger and thumb, forcing him to look into his eyes.

“Look at me, right here. Just relax.” His hands were now on Eddie’s hips and he shifted them so that one of Eddie’s thighs sat snugly between both of Richie’s, his other leg pinned by the other boy’s hip by Richie’s large hand. Eddie’s breathing hitched as they started to move against each other, and he felt himself go rigid once again. Richie’s hands tightened around him, forcing his movements to match his own, and before he knew it, his hips moved by themselves, and his arm had wrapped itself around Richie’s neck as he dipped Eddie, shifting closer together as he came back up and Eddie felt jolts of electricity prickle down his spine as they kept up their tantalizing pace, crotches brushing every now and then, and he could feel that Richie was enjoying this as much as he was.

As the last beats of the song played out, Eddie could feel Richie’s hand intertwine with the one around his own neck, and he spun Eddie in a small circle. When the dancers applauded, Eddie opened his eyes to find Richie gone. There was no trace of the dark mop of hair in the crowd, yet he could still feel the ghost of hands over his hips and his thigh and-

Bill clenched his arm on his shoulder, forcing him to come crashing back down to reality. Offering him a tight smile, Eddie followed Bill back to where Stan was standing while they said their goodbyes before they made their way back to their cabin, relieved to find Sonia wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

Despite thinking he wouldn’t, Eddie slept like a baby that night, but his dreamed were plagued with dark eyes, sure hips, and strong hands wrapped around his waist.

**Author's Note:**

> come and say hi on tumblr @ d-nbroughs !


End file.
